Posted - 04/22/2009 : 5:30:05 PMFor the last 10+ years, Barbara Parry and her husband have been establishing a flock of Cormo and Border Leicester sheep at their 220-acre farm in western Massachusetts. More recently, she began documenting her daily life on the farm in her blog, Sheepgal—it's one of my daily reads, and I encourage you to bookmark it.

Barbara sells her yarns primarily at sheep and wool festivals in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York, and she also makes them available to the general public through her Web site. Foxfire Fiber is perhaps best known for its luxurious Cormo wool blends, but Barbara also offers some intriguing blends based on her Border Leicester fibers—and that's what I review here.

Here's a benefit of being behind w/my emails: I just read Clara's review of Barbara's yarns & these comments ^ .. ^

Barbara's yarns are so fabulous & Luann is right on the money: her presentation to us was wonderful & among all the KR Retreats (I am lucky to have attended all of them), it is one of my David Letterman Top 10 highlights. Her yarns are spectacular & her energy is so terrific that you know it comes across & through the skeins right to you as a knitter.

Thank you, clara, for this review - I hope we see Barbara at the 2009 Retreat.

Posted - 04/23/2009 : 12:33:02 PM Meeting Barbara at the '07 KR Retreat was a highlight. Hearing her talk about the work of raising her yarns from sheep to skein gave me an even deeper appreciation of the work that goes into producing all the beautiful yarns we have available to us. Then I saw her booth during the market day, and I was bowled over by the beautiful colors... I told her that she had managed to capture the colors that I dream about at night. I came home with a bagful of Foxfire Fiber fibers. Thanks for the memories, Clara!

Posted - 04/23/2009 : 06:30:37 AM Oh that's right! I forgot to mention that Barbara also has sock yarn. And you are correct, sock yarn does not count as stash yarn. Just like we have two stomachs - the dinner stomach and the dessert stomach, and your dinner one may be full but the dessert one is always empty.

ClaraYour friendly Knitter's Review publisher

Chemcats

Posted - 04/23/2009 : 03:34:58 AM Let me double check this. Sock yarn is NOT stash is OK right? I'm not going to get in trouble if I get some seriously beautiful sock yarn, right?

Thank you Clara! Me thinks I better order soon.

Meribeth

minh

Posted - 04/22/2009 : 8:40:01 PM I've been addicted to Barb's yarns for the past two years -- with this being Clara's second glowing review, I'm going to have to fight the crowds at her booth... but it will be worth it ;)

Good thing that I'm already signed up for her Sheep Shares Club and am guaranteed to receive the Upland Wool and Alpaca as my summer share. Hee hee...

Jane

Posted - 04/22/2009 : 5:57:27 PM Me! Me! I love Barbara's fibers and yarns -- and I can't wait to try this one. Thanks for reviewing it for us, Clara.